


Kid (Voltron, Shore Leave)

by Ebhenah



Series: Fictober 2018 [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Galaxy Garrison, M/M, Shore Leave
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 08:35:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16678195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ebhenah/pseuds/Ebhenah
Summary: Prompt "I heard enough, this ends now."Voltron Fanfiction. S07 spoilers. Angst.Adam pov, Garrison Days, Keith.Rating: T- some language, discussion of same sex relationship, mentions of foster care, death, infidelity and homophobiaReferences Ch 72 "Fair's Fair" of my Klance fic "Shore Leave" which can be found https://archiveofourown.org/works/15690639/chapters/36459471andhttps://www.fanfiction.net/s/13032968/1/Shore-Leave





	Kid (Voltron, Shore Leave)

The voice was soft, but choked with emotion he hadn't heard before. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but he couldn't seem to tear his attention away from the hushed phone call. It almost sounded like… shit… the kid was crying. That was something he'd NEVER seen before, not even on the trips out to his father's gravesite.

"I don't understand," he was saying, "I know your foster parents aren't… yeah… but… no, but lots of people go to movies with their friends… but WHY would they be… it's just, that day, it's my birthday."

He sighed, knowing in his gut that this was going to end badly for a kid who'd already seen far too much 'bad' in his short life. He'd never liked the boyfriend, not from the first minute he'd met him. He was… slimy. Slimy in the way that shady car salesmen were slimy. Too slick, too charming, too good at playing the angles. But the kid was blind to that. They'd been in a group home together, and for some reason, any criticism of this (older, because, OF COURSE he was older… with access to a car, even) boy seemed to cut the kid deep- like they were talking about him, instead of trying to watch out for him.

Being foster parents to an angry, traumatized, hotheaded orphan had never been EASY, but it wasn't until the boyfriend showed up that there had been any sign of the kind of conflicts and attitude that people always complained about when dealing with teenagers. Arguments, door slamming (that was fun), insistence that they 'didn't understand' and 'he loves me, it's just complicated- you have no idea what its like for him'. Suddenly, they were having to police curfew (because said boyfriend cajoled him into breaking it one too many times), and grill the kid for details on what he was doing when he went out (because the boyfriend encouraged him to lie about it 'to avoid getting hassled'). Eyerolls started showing up outside of joking around (so charming- not). So, did long-suffering sighs (always a crowd-pleaser). And a whole lot of 'you don't have to like him, you're not the one dating him' (his personal favorite).

Neither of them had any luck trying to get the kid to see the warning signs, but from the sounds of this side of the conversation, maybe the kid had started to clue in on his own.

"Hold on- with WHO? Why her? You said… no, you definitely said you guys broke up… oh… yeah.. I guess that makes sense. Yeah… I get it, you can't risk it. I know… yeah… I love you, too. No… I'm not going to get clingy. I just thought, because it was my birthday you could- I know… yeah, I'm sorry…"

Hold up- HE was sorry?! Oh HELL no! He burst through the door, "give me the phone."

"Adam! What the hell? I'm on the phone!"

Rage filled him, that lying, manipulative little shit made HIS kid cry, his stoic kid who never let anyone see that they got to him, in TEARS because of some little asswipe, and then apologize for being upset. Oh fuck no! "Keith, give me the phone, now." Shockingly, the kid did just that.

"Hello," he said far too sweetly, "This is Adam. We've met. It's no secret that I've never liked you, but I've stayed out of it because Keith likes you. But that is over. No! This is the part where I talk and you listen. I heard enough, this ends now. You are going to lose this number, and any other way you have to contact Keith. You are NEVER going to sully his life with your presence again. EVER. Do you understand me?"

The little shit had the gall, the sheer, unadulterated (pun 100% intended) GALL to try and claim a misunderstanding. "I'm not fifteen, buddy," Adam snarled, "I know what 'its complicated' means when a teenage closet case has a girlfriend. I actually feel for you if you can't be out right now, I do- but not enough to let you hurt my kid over it. So, yeah. You are persona non grata as of now… lose this number or I'll make you wish you had." He hung up the phone and turned back to Keith, who was staring at him with huge eyes.

"What did you DO?!" he shrieked, grabbing for the phone, "I need to call him back! Fix it!"

"Keith," he said calmly, holding the phone out of reach, "he's not worth it. He's not worth YOU."

That made the kid pause, but just for an instant, "you don't understand anything…"

"I do. I understand. He lives with homophobes. It sucks. It's sad- heartbreaking, even… but that doesn't give him the right to hurt other people."

"He's not hurting anyone," Keith argued.

"Keith… kid, you are crying," Adam said softly, suddenly realizing that Keith was completely unaware of the tears rolling down his cheeks. "He's hurting YOU and I will not abide that."

"What do you even care?" Keith hissed, "you just got stuck with me because of Shiro."

"It doesn't matter HOW we all ended up here," Adam said gently, "you're my kid now, and you deserve someone who is proud to be with you, not someone who hides you away from the world. You are a human being- and a pretty awesome one at that- never let anyone turn you into a dirty little secret."

"He was lying the whole time, wasn't he?" It was gut-wrenching to see the kid's heart shatter like this, but it would have only gotten worse with time. "You knew. Right away, you told me not to trust him."

Adam just nodded, pulling the small teen into his arms for a hug and smoothing his hair, "I'm sorry, Keith. I wish I had been wrong."

"Oh God… I was such a jerk to you… and to Shiro. How could I be so stupid? You guys must hate me!"

"We don't hate you, kid. I love you. Shiro loves you… and you aren't stupid. You're just young. This is just part of growing up. It's how you learn."

"He had a girlfriend… this whole time, he had a girlfriend."

"I know. That's on him, not you," he smiled encouragingly, "you didn't do anything wrong. Not a thing. Now, c'mon, I was making sushi for supper. You can help me with it, and then we'll skip homework for the night and watch a movie. I'll write you a note for your teachers, too."

His eyes flew wide, "I don't want my teachers to know!"

He looked so horrified it would have been cute in any other situation. "I'm just going to say that we had family obligations that ran late, Keith, relax."

"Family obligations?"

"Mmhmm… several incredibly funny movies to distract you and keep you laughing. You are obliged to watch. Your guardian insists."


End file.
